Today In History

[John Thomas8]

Drachinifel's videos on how the US Fleet was restored after Pearl Harbor are fascinating.

[Chilidog]

Cross posted

12/7/1972. The only night launch of a Saturn V

Apollo.17

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[Frater I*I]

I might be the only forum member that wasn't alive the last time someone was on the moon....

[Chilidog]

[johnpcapitalist]

(nearly) 90 years ago - October 23, 1934 - Italy Macchi Castoldi M.C.72 seaplane makes world absolute speed record flight (440.681 mph)

and this year:

"Awakening of the Myth" - Fiat AS.6 Engine of Macchi-Castoldi Fame Roars to Life!

Vintage Aviation News
23 Oct 2023

on Sunday, October 22nd, 2023 another major event took place to commemorate Italy's proud aviation heritage - this being the resurrection of an ultra-rare Fiat AS.6 engine. This massive, V-24 engine powered the legendary Macchi Castoldi M.C.72 seaplane on its world absolute speed record flight (440.681 mph) of October 23, 1934, with Warrant Officer Francesco Agello at the controls. The rebuilt engine roared to life in front of a crowd (almost exactly 89 years after that momentous day) following a two-year restoration effort. If the AS.6 was able to roar again after more than 80 years of silence, it is only because of the efforts of the "Il Magnete" Association, led by its founder, Leonardo Sordi. Roughly 5,500 hours of work was involved in the various tasks needed to complete the project, including dismantling, historical research, reconstruction of components and accessories, reassembly and testing.

Holy crap! What an engine! I had no idea that anyone had ever built an inline aircraft engine that big. Cooling must have been a staggering problem. Even though they used a water-cooling system, the complexity (and weight) must have been significant because of the mechanical risk of failures in multiple coolant loops, presumably with multiple cooling pumps.

Reading the Wikipedia article about this engine is fascinating. It was essentially two lightweight V-12's bolted together with a bizarrely complicated output train driving two counter-rotating propellers. It says here that the engine was built specifically for racing and never intended for mass production, so I'm sure that the maintenance nightmare of keeping this thing running for hours-long flights was not a concern. Adding to the maintenance nightmare was the fact that the AS.5's burned a mix of gasoline, benzene and toluene, which probably led to all sorts of entertaining random explosions.

Aircraft balance and pitch stability with the weight of a 12 to 15-foot-long engine (2,000 to 2,500 pounds of metal) in the front must have been...challenging. "Challenging" as in "airborne death trap." According to the Wikipedia article on the Machhi M.C.72, the aircraft was 27 feet (8.3 m) long, so half of the length was the engine. An aircraft empty weight of 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) meant the engine was half the mass of the plane.

Fighters (and the Macchi M.C.72) could get away with inline engines, which improved pilot visibility and reduced the cross-section of the fuselage, but cooling was thus heavier and mechanically less reliable. The P-51D Mustang from WWII used the Rolls-Royce Merlin 65 engine, with water cooling. The supercharger gave it great high-altitude performance, but it was tough to get enough air into the system at the service ceiling of 41,000 feet (12,800 m).

Radial engines were usually preferred for multi-engine aircraft because each cylinder had equal exposure to the airflow coming past the propeller. During the late 1930s and 1940s, the need for more horsepower for airliners and cargo aircraft led to the development of multi-row radial engines, where there were two rings of cylinders, offset to maximize cooling air. In the early 1940s, they went to three and ultimately four-row designs. This culminated in the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major 4360 in 1944, which used an increasingly clever but contrived bag of tricks to try and boost cooling. Several air museums in the US have cutaway 4360's, and they are beautiful pieces of abstract mechanical art. Descriptions of some of the tricks they used to eke every bit of performance out of what was becoming an evolutionary dead end are fascinating.

Fortunately, the jet engine was just starting to come on the scene at that time and provided the ability to scale up thrust by almost two orders of magnitude over piston engines. Four 3,500 horsepower Wasp Major 4360's could power the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter at a max speed of about 375 mph. While calculating equivalent jet thrust of propeller engines is not exact, the standard rule for approximating the result yields about 3,500 pounds of thrust per engine at that speed (thrust equivalency is a function of a specific speed) for a hypothetical jet-powered C-97.

Today, the GE GE90x, which is coming online for the next-generation Boeing 777X, delivers over 134,000 pounds of thrust per engine, 40 times what the biggest radial engine was able to produce. I don't know how you would compare thrust-specific fuel consumption between these two, but I have to believe it's also dramatically better than radials. And I can't even imagine how finicky a 4-row radial engine must have been for both scheduled maintenance and the frequency of unplanned events versus a modern jet engine that can reasonably go 5,000 to 10,000 flight hours between major overhauls, with relatively low odds of an in-flight shutdown or other significant maintenance event.

Incidentally, the Smithsonian Institution has the world's largest collection of old aircraft engines at its Paul Garber Restoration facility in the Maryland suburbs of DC. They have far more than they can hope to display at the main Capitol Mall museum or at the Udvar-Hazy center at Dulles Airport. It's worth a trip if you're into baroque technology.

[Foggy]

Off Topic

What is the GE GE90x going to use for fuel?

[Frater I*I]

Today, the GE GE90x, which is coming online for the next-generation Boeing 777X, delivers over 134,000 pounds of thrust per engine, 40 times what the biggest radial engine was able to produce. I don't know how you would compare thrust-specific fuel consumption between these two, but I have to believe it's also dramatically better than radials. And I can't even imagine how finicky a 4-row radial engine must have been for both scheduled maintenance and the frequency of unplanned events versus a modern jet engine that can reasonably go 5,000 to 10,000 flight hours between major overhauls, with relatively low odds of an in-flight shutdown or other significant maintenance event.

It would be closer than you think...radials are surprisingly fuel efficient, one of the mechanic's jokes about radials is that "we go check the fuel, and fill the oil"

[Frater I*I]

Off Topic

What is the GE GE90x going to use for fuel?

Two main characteristics for a gas turbine fuel: It atomizes well, and it is fairly flammable...

The GE90nx can run off the following easily...

Gasoline [yes the same stuff you put in your car]
AvGas
Jet A
Jet B
Diesel
Marine Diesel

[Volkonski]

On This Day In History
@onthisday@mastodon.social
Today in 1979, 44 years ago: The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (with rinderpest in 2011 being the other).

[northland10]

It would be closer than you think...radials are surprisingly fuel efficient, one of the mechanic's jokes about radials is that "we go check the fuel, and fill the oil"

I had a Chevy Nova like that, though not because of efficiency.

[raison de arizona]

On this day in 2020, Rusty Bowers’ life took a decidedly bad turn, culminating in death threats when he wouldn’t cheat for tfg.

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[Estiveo]

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[Maybenaut]

On this day in 2020, Rusty Bowers’ life took a decidedly bad turn, culminating in death threats when he wouldn’t cheat for tfg.
IMG_6789.jpeg

Nothing says Merry Christmas like “put your freedom at risk for me.”

[RTH10260]

100 years ago - December 27, 1923 - Death of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel

Constructor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Statue of Liberty in New York.

ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Eiffel

[RTH10260]

50 years ago -

‘Rarely does a film cause national hysteria’: The Exorcist turns 50
In 1973, the demonic horror shocked and compelled the US, remaining a vital landmark for the genre in the decades since

David Smith in Washington
Tue 26 Dec 2023 08.11 CET

For horror film fans it looms large like the Lincoln Memorial or Washington Monument. An official city plaque announces that a precipitous stone staircase in Georgetown, Washington DC, will forever be known as the Exorcist steps. It marks the spot where “Father Karras [the actor Jason Miller] plummets the seventy-five steps to his death” at the movie’s climax.

Joggers who work out on the steps might get some company on Tuesday from Exorcist devotees savouring a milestone: the 50th anniversary of the release of a movie that prompted reports of fainting, vomiting, epileptic fits and audience members charging the screen waving rosary beads.


https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/d ... t-turns-50

[RTH10260]

80 years ago - January 23, 1944 - Death of Norwegian painter Edward Munch

Edvard Munch (/mʊŋk/ MUUNK,[1] Norwegian: [ˈɛ̀dvɑɖ ˈmʊŋk] ⓘ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work, The Scream, has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Munch

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

https://fatcatart.com/2016/08/scream-munch/?lang=en

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[RTH10260]

50+2 years ago - 13 October 1972 - Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was the chartered flight of a Fairchild FH-227D from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, that crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster (Tragedia de los Andes, literally Tragedy of the Andes) and the Miracle of the Andes (Milagro de los Andes).

The inexperienced co-pilot, Lieutenant-Colonel Dante Héctor Lagurara, was piloting the aircraft at the time of the accident. He mistakenly believed the aircraft had overflown Curicó, the turning point to fly north and begin descending towards what he thought was Pudahuel Airport in Santiago de Chile. He failed to notice that instrument readings indicated he was still 60–69 km (37–43 mi) east of Curicó. Lagurara, upon regaining visual flight conditions, saw the mountain and unsuccessfully tried to gain altitude. The aircraft struck a mountain ridge, shearing off both wings and the tail cone. The remaining portion of the fuselage slid down a glacier at an estimated 350 km/h (220 mph), descending 725 metres (2,379 ft) before ramming into an ice and snow mound.

The flight was carrying 45 passengers and crew, including 19 members of the Old Christians Club rugby union team, along with their families, supporters and friends. Three crew members and nine passengers died immediately and several more died soon after due to the frigid temperatures and the severity of their injuries. The crash site is located at an elevation of 3,570 metres (11,710 ft) in the remote Andes mountains of western Argentina, just east of the border with Chile. Search and rescue aircraft overflew the crash site several times during the following days, but failed to see the white fuselage against the snow. Search efforts were called off after eight days of searching.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan ... Flight_571

History recalled cause of a new Netflix documentary, many articles, like

A Survivor Recalls the Harrowing 1972 Plane Crash Behind Society of the Snow

BY MEGAN MCCLUSKEY
JANUARY 5, 2024 4:42 PM EST

https://time.com/6551709/society-of-the ... y-netflix/

[RTH10260]

100 years ago - January 21, 1924 - Death of Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,[c] was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia, and later the Soviet Union, became a one-party socialist state governed by the Communist Party. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments to the ideology are called Leninism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin

[keith]

A couple of days late, sorry.

Ongoing stories lamenting the demise of the PAC-12, a story on the UCLA/Arizona basketball rivalry.

The last regularly-scheduled UCLA visit to McKale is this week. From the first UCLA conference game, under Coach Fred Snowden (January 18, 1979, U of A 70 - #3 UCLA 69) throughout the history, this has become the biggest rivalry in the West.

Fuller story in the Sportsball forums on College Hoops.

[Suranis]

Today is the Birthday of Tom Baker, born January 20, 1934.

[RTH10260]

60 years ago - January 14, 1964 - The Problem We All Live With painting by Norman Rockwell

The Problem We All Live With is a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell that is considered an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur "Black" and the letters "KKK"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 36 inches (91 cm) high by 58 inches (150 cm) wide.

The painting was originally published as a centerfold in the January 14, 1964, issue of Look. Rockwell had ended his contract with the Saturday Evening Post the previous year due to frustration with the limits the magazine placed on his expression of political themes, and Look offered him a forum for his social interests, including civil rights and racial integration. Rockwell explored similar themes in Southern Justice (Murder in Mississippi) and New Kids in the Neighborhood; unlike his previous works for the Post, The Problem We All Live With and these others place black people as sole protagonists, instead of as observers, part of group scenes, or in servile roles. Like New Kids in the Neighborhood, The Problem We All Live With depicts a black child protagonist; like Southern Justice, it uses strong light-dark contrasts to further its racial theme.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Probl ... _Live_With

[Suranis]

[RTH10260]

40 years ago - January 24, 1984 - Apple introduces the Macintosh 128K

establishes The Mouse for the larger population

The Apple Macintosh—later rebranded as the Macintosh 128K—is the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. The Macintosh was the first successful mass-market all-in-one desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface, built-in screen, and mouse. It played a pivotal role in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function. The motherboard, a 9 in (23 cm) CRT black and white monitor, and a floppy drive were housed in a beige case with integrated carrying handle; it came with a keyboard and single-button mouse. It sold for US$2,495 (equivalent to $7,000 in 2022). The Macintosh was introduced by a television commercial entitled "1984" shown during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984,[6] and directed by Ridley Scott. Sales of the Macintosh were strong at its initial release on January 24, 1984, and reached 70,000 units on May 3, 1984.[7] Upon the release of its successor, the Macintosh 512K, it was rebranded as the Macintosh 128K. The computer's model number was M0001.[8]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_128K

[RTH10260]

I believe we missed this last year

60 years ago - 1962 / 1963 - UK The Big Freeze of 1963

1962/63 was the coldest UK winter for 200 years and lasted for 10 weeks.